World's Largest Vertical Farm is being Built in NJ. 1.6 acres. No soil, no sun, 95% less water. 2 million pounds of lettuce and other greens per year.

[BanTSN]

http://gizmodo.com/the-worlds-largest-vertical-farm-is-being-built-in-new-1783152722

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A huge vertical farm—where crops are planted, grown, and harvested all with neither sun nor soil—is being built in New Jersey. When it’s finished, it will be the largest one in the world.

You can see one of the (smaller) existing factories from AeroFarm, on which the new one will be modeled, above in this video from Seeker Stories. Nothing they are doing or planning is really new—people have been growing vegetables indoors under LED lights, minus the soil, for a very long time now. Even the factory spin is nothing new. Japan’s Mirai factory has been doing something similar on a slightly smaller scale for years now. What is interesting here, though, is just how big this place is.

AeroFarm is now constructing a 70,000-square-foot farm in an old steel mill. When it’s finished, AeroFarm claims the farm will yield 2 million pounds of lettuce and other greens yearly.

 

But despite occasional proclamations from fans that vertical farming is the future of food, it’s so far remained pretty niche. For vertical farming to really take off, we’ll need to see several of these kinds of successful, large-scale operations able to turn out what they promise—and we’ll need to see them keep doing it on a regular basis. Until then, we’re nowhere near ready to take the fields out of farming.

 

 

 

Not a new idea, but LED costs are coming way down to make the potential food output more substantial.  This could eliminate the need for vast areas for farming around the world, the water shortage problem, water pollution problems from farming, and get fresh food closer to the areas where people live.  Lab-grown meat is in the cards as well.  And electric cars powered by renewables will be everywhere.

 

The world is going to be a very different place in 25-30 years.

[Miss Korea Bob.Loblaw]

inb4 the blight

[Green Building]

I know a bit about hydroponics, as well as aquaculture. The thing I'm not entirly sure about is whether or not LED lighting replicates the vitamin content of what would otherwise be grown in a greenhouse. Hydroponic tomatoes, for example, are legit, but I've only eaten those that are grown outdoors in full available sunlight.

 

I suppose the principle is the same, and as long as the root systems are receiving max nutrients then LED lights will just let the plant do the work? I mean the whole point of eating vegetables is too feel better by ingesting vitamins. I don't want to compare LED veg to farmed salmon, but I feel it's an honest question nonetheless.

 

 

 

 

[luckylager]

25 minutes ago, Green Building said:

Quote

[luckylager]

26 minutes ago, Green Building said:

I know a bit about hydroponics, as well as aquaculture. The thing I'm not entirly sure about is whether or not LED lighting replicates the vitamin content of what would otherwise be grown in a greenhouse. Hydroponic tomatoes, for example,

 

 

 

Tomatoes and lettuces have very different light needs.

 

I grow lettuce in the trough between tomatoes through the summer; the spring crop in the shade of the peas. They get very little direct sunlight and are absolutely delicious, and may be the best lettuces in the world.

 

Thinking that root feeding is more essential than light quality for leafy greeners. But I'm no botanist so....

 

Anyone?

 

 

 

[SaintPatrick33]

I think by now we all know the technology exists to make this world a better place.

 

The real question is would the powers that be allow this to happen? Where can they get their profit out of such a low-maintenance food system? 

[Mathew Barzal]

Before this gets out of hand we need to enforce some child limit laws to get this population growth under control.

[Violator]

Im guessing this works better with vegetation that doesn't have a deep root system that doesnt require something to develope other countless years like apples,oranges,limes and anything else that needs a deep root system to grow.Any idiot can grow leafy vegetables it takes no time and really only needs water and photosynthesis.

[Nuxfanabroad]

44 minutes ago, Mathew Barzal said:

Before this gets out of hand we need to enforce some child limit laws to get this population growth under control.

Didn't Malthus say this in the 18th C?! Forgive the cynicism, but religion, biological imperative or SOME obstacle will get in the way.

 

We'll hit EIGHT billion in about 5 yrs..+80,000,00 annually.

[Standing_Tall#37]

4 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Didn't Malthus say this in the 18th C?! Forgive the cynicism, but religion, biological imperative or SOME obstacle will get in the way.

 

We'll hit EIGHT billion in about 5 yrs..+80,000,00 annually.

Mother Nature always finds a way... Whether it's disease, famine, crazy people creating wars, earthquakes, ice ages or volcanic eruptions...etc. 

 

When she decides she's had enough we'll feel it

[Nuxfanabroad]

16 minutes ago, Standing_Tall#37 said:

Mother Nature always finds a way... Whether it's disease, famine, crazy people creating wars, earthquakes, ice ages or volcanic eruptions...etc. 

 

When she decides she's had enough we'll feel it

They say she don't do bailouts.

[RUPERTKBD]

8 hours ago, Green Building said:

I know a bit about hydroponics,

Of course you do...

[TimberWolf]

7 hours ago, Nuxfanabroad said:

Didn't Malthus say this in the 18th C?! Forgive the cynicism, but religion, biological imperative or SOME obstacle will get in the way.

 

We'll hit EIGHT billion in about 5 yrs..+80,000,00 annually.

 

It's not religion or any of that, it's poverty rates. As soon as an area's standard of living goes up, the birth rates go down. 

 

[ForsbergTheGreat]

8 hours ago, SaintPatrick33 said:

I think by now we all know the technology exists to make this world a better place.

 

The real question is would the powers that be allow this to happen? Where can they get their profit out of such a low-maintenance food system? 

But they are also very smart at making the public think they came up with the idea on their own.  GMO's and use of antibiotic's are a process to make farming more efficient with greater yields, yet we see how under attack those areas are.  People forget how many mouths in the world there are to be fed.

[drsofthands]

Agricultural 'breakthroughs' always end up costing more than they provide, and they always have unforeseen health consequences.

[aGENT]

3 hours ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

But they are also very smart at making the public think they came up with the idea on their own.  GMO's and use of antibiotic's are a process to make farming more efficient with greater yields, yet we see how under attack those areas are.  People forget how many mouths in the world there are to be fed.

Probably because that's horse crap. GMO's have far more to do with profits and patents than 'feeding the world'. THAT is why they're (rightly) 'under attack'. That and their general increased usage of pest/herbicides (yay profits!) that cause health issues, environmental damage etc and have been in fact proven less productive than traditional, organic farming methods. 

 

http://rodaleinstitute.org/our-work/farming-systems-trial/farming-systems-trial-30-year-report/

 

As for hydroponic farming, it can certainly replicate a greater abundance of food and more 'efficiently' but let's not kid ourselves, there is something lost in the details. For anyone interested on the subject, I highly recommend the following read:

 

 

 

Yes, you can grow something the basic shape, feel etc of a tomato by using nutrients X, Y and Z but additional 'non essential' nutrients, minerals etc found in healthy soil effect flavour, texture and nutritional value.

 

Humans science is still a relatively poor substitute for millions of years of mother nature's evolutionary process.

 

[ForsbergTheGreat]

Just now, J.R. said:

Probably because that's horse crap. GMO's have far more to do with profits and patents than 'feeding the world'. THAT is why they're (rightly) 'under attack'. That and their general increased usage of pest/herbicides (yay profits!) that cause health issues, environmental damage etc and have been in fact proven less productive than traditional, organic farming methods. 

 

http://rodaleinstitute.org/our-work/farming-systems-trial/farming-systems-trial-30-year-report/

 

As for hydroponic farming, it can certainly replicate a greater abundance of food and more 'efficiently' but let's not kid ourselves, there is something lost in the details. For anyone interested on the subject, I highly recommend the following read:

 

 

 

Yes, you can grow something the basic shape, feel etc of a tomato by using nutrients X, Y and Z but additional 'non essential' nutrients, minerals etc found in healthy soil effect flavour, texture and nutritional value.

 

Humans science is still a relatively poor substitute for millions of years of mother nature's evolutionary process.

 

I'm interested in to knowing how many acres you've seeded this spring?  How many fields you've had effected by drought and insects?  It's funny when I get to see my "organic neighbor handing out pamphlets of about his crops and how they are better, except the images he used were pictures taken of my fields".  Every year we test different fields with different brands so we see results first hand to assure we get the best yield.  JR if you really want a run down on agriculture I'll be more than happy to bring you out to field for a season and show you the differences. 

 

[aGENT]

13 minutes ago, ForsbergTheGreat said:

I'm interested in to knowing how many acres you've seeded this spring?  How many fields you've had effected by drought and insects?  It's funny when I get to see my "organic neighbor handing out pamphlets of about his crops and how they are better, except the images he used were pictures taken of my fields".  Every year we test different fields with different brands so we see results first hand to assure we get the best yield.  JR if you really want a run down on agriculture I'll be more than happy to bring you out to field for a season and show you the differences. 

 

Evidently you haven't bothered to even click on let alone read the link:

 

27 minutes ago, J.R. said:

http://rodaleinstitute.org/our-work/farming-systems-trial/farming-systems-trial-30-year-report/

 

Talk to me when you've done a comprehensive, 30 year long, peer reviewed farming trial that somehow refutes the Rodale Institutes findings.

[SamJamIam]

57 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Probably because that's horse crap. GMO's have far more to do with profits and patents than 'feeding the world'.

Golden rice.

 

*mic drop*

[aGENT]

31 minutes ago, SamJamIam said:

Golden rice.

 

*mic drop*

Yellow rice feeds so many more mouths than regular rice!! 

 

Same with non-browning apples and anything 'Round-up ready'  What a friendly sounding way of saying "we're pouring tons of herbicides on your food, killing the soil, polluting the ground water and creating 'super-weeds' in the name of our profits".

 

Honestly, it sounds like an ad for a 1950's cowboy themed cereal. How quaint.